Home
|
All materials published and promoted by L Smith, PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU
|
|
Demonstration against new immigration laws |
Thousands of migrant workers demonstrated in Trafalgar Square today against the government's new immigration laws. They were overwhelmingly from the Indian sub-continent and predominantly from Bangladesh.
The demonstration was organised by the Ethnic Catering Alliance including the Bangladesh Caterers Association. Many workers of Bangladeshi origin were there and there were also workers in the Chinese and Turkish restaurant business.
When temporary work permits expire the government force the workers concerned to return to their home country and apply again for permits. Not only is this expensive (and environmentally damaging), under the new "Australian" rules, many workers will now be turned down for permit renewal. This will have a potentially devastating impact on the Indian, Turkish and Chinese restaurant businesses.
Speaker after speaker attacked the government's approach, including a host of Labour party speakers. But probably the best received speech of the day came from George Galloway. George has moved an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons and a petition in support of that motion is being circulated widely. You can download the petition here.
The motion is below:
This House notes the enormous economic contribution made by immigrants into Britain through the restaurant trade and other industries; notes that many restaurants are having great difficulty finding staff, due to visa restrictions on the entry of workers from outside the European Union, while there are, at the same time, significant numbers of such workers already here but whose temporary work permits have expired; we therefore believe that enabling these workers to work legally through an extension of their permits makes economic sense and would avoid them having to return to countries outside the EU in order to apply for their permits from there and where there is the very real possibility these permits would be refused.
|
|
